Looking Back
How’s your faith? How has this year affected you?
Verse of the Day
‘A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.’
‘If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.’
‘Whatever you do, do well.’
Today’s Devotional
As we come to the end of the year, there is a great opportunity to reflect on how God has worked in your life this year. For me, I often don’t see those things unless I take the time to intentionally look for them.
Before we dive into the new year, it’s a good idea to take inventory of our spiritual life. We tend to spend time in the new year looking forward and making goals. (And I think that’s good.) But I’m inviting us to take some time to reflect on where we have been.
In recovery groups, there is a very powerful step that is part of the ongoing spiritual journey. It’s the tenth step in twelve-step recovery. It states: “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
Using today’s verses, I want to be a prudent person who sees danger and takes precautions. I won’t see the danger if I’m not willing to look for it. I never want to claim to “have it all together” spiritually. If there is sin in my life, I’m asking God to show it to me so that I can confess it. Doing any kind of spiritual inventory allows us to look for these dangers and invite God’s healing presence into those areas.
There is also a very positive aspect of a spiritual inventory. We can look at how God has answered prayers, for themes in the messages we are hearing from God, we can look for fruit that He has allowed to grow, we can see progress of His live taking root in our heart. Simply put, we can take time to look at the beauty of our relationship with the Father.
Take some time to ask yourself the following questions. Pray before you begin and invite the Holy Spirit to give you the insight that you need.
-Do I trust God more or less than a year ago? How do I know?
-Am I making the Word a daily priority in my life? How has this looked over this last year?
-How is my prayer life? Where have I been struggling in prayer? Where and how has God grown my faith through prayer?
-Am I growing in my ability to listen to God? What kinds of messages has He been saying to me this year?
-When was the last time God gave me direction? Did I follow? How did that turn out?
-Did I receive any revelation from God this year? If so, what did I do about it?
-When was the last time God convicted me of an area of my life that I needed to turn over to Him in obedience? Did I obey?
-Am I closer to (or further from) the people in my life who have godly wisdom? Am I inviting these people to instruct and correct me?
-How’s my heart? Is it soft and tender or hard and resentful?
-How’s my gratitude? Does being thankful come more easily or less than it used to?
-Would the people in my life say that I am more fruitful in the Spirit or less? (In love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control)
In all my studies, I have never heard one person say they have “arrived” in their faith. This is a life-long journey. We will never graduate. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:12: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” Are we pressing on? Or have we gotten a little lazy in any area? Today is a great day to think about these things and invite God into all of it.
Part of my personal spiritual practice is reading through the entire year’s worth of prayers journals at the end of the year. This is a great reminder for me of how God has moved in my life. It is also where I see the messages that he has been trying to get me to understand and obey. For me, it’s a beautiful and often convicting part of my relationship with God each year’s end.
For today, take the time to look at your faith honestly with the help of the Holy Spirit. As we begin a new year, ask God to help you see your faith through His eyes. Then ask God to help you to draw even closer than where you are today.
It’s going to be a great year because God is on the throne, He is in control, He loves you, and He is so, so good.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Use the questions above to take a spiritual inventory.
What dangers do you see in your life and what precautions do you need to take?